Friday, October 3, 2014

Inter-faith statement of solidarity with Lummi Nation 2013

Inter-faith statement of
solidarity with Lummi Nation

Respect for sacred
places is intrinsic in most religious traditions, often at places where a sense
of the divine was manifested or experienced. Sacred sites for Christians in
Jerusalem include the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the traditional site of
Jesus’ burial and resurrection. For Muslims, there is the Dome of the Rock
where the prophet Muhammad ascended into heaven. For Jews, there is the area
associated with the second temple including the Temple Mount.

There
are countless examples on all continents. Buddhists hold as holy the places where
Buddha was born, enlightened, and died. The Ganges River is sacred to Hindus. Shinto shrines throughout Japan are used for the
safekeeping of sacred objects as well as marking sacred spaces. Phiphidi is
part of a network of sacred sites in South Africa. Right here in Whatcom County
the Lummi Nation’s sacred sites are thousands of years old.

More recently,
sites in the US are considered sacred where there have been mass deaths
including Gettysburg in PA, Hawaii's World War II Memorials, and Ground
Zero in NYC, which have pivotal meaning for a whole nation.

Cemeteries are
hallowed places for Christians, Buddhists, Jews, and Muslims. Hindus burn their
dead and pour their ashes into the sacred Ganges River. Even among the
secular there are the burial places of historical heroes and of fallen soldiers.
Sacred are the memories of loved ones who have passed from this life. There is
a strong moral presumption to oppose disrupting any of these sites and the
sacred meanings attached to them.

We are deeply
indebted to the Lummi and other indigenous peoples for reminding us that we are
part of a living, dynamic cosmos. Creation has a dignity and purpose that goes
beyond human quests for economic gain. We violate this when we refuse to accept
the limits of Creation and our responsibilities to it, or when we are complicit
in practices that result in the further destruction of the wellbeing of the
creation for all.

We pray for help to see this
beloved garden in the same way as our Lummi neighbors do—as sacred ground,
sacred water, sacred air, mother of us all.

Thus,
as people of faith, we stand in solidarity with the Lummi Nation in
opposing any developments that disrupt their sacred lands and waters
at Cherry Point.